Remember how I was wondering whether indie musicians would get any love from Apple’s new music service? Well, according to an interview with Steve Jobs over at Time.com, the indie labels are mighty eager to join and Mr. Jobs is mighty eager to bring them aboard.

Someday, I’ll give my full-blown prognostication about where all this is going to lead (good things are coming, I think).

Comic for 05-02-03

I remembered to upload the new comic but I forgot to post about it.

At least it saved me the trouble of having to come up with a clever (?) way to announce today’s comic.

As part of my shameless quest to get listed in every online comics directory, I’ve added the site to the listings over at BuzzComix.net. There’s a voting link in (where else?) the links section, if you feel so inclined.

Not many people actually do the voting thing, really…and to be honest, I don’t mind. I think I could get some votes if I were more aggressive about it, but I don’t want to go that route. The main reason I submit the site to these directories is because theres the slight chance of getting new readers through them just by being listed.

So, if you want to show your support by voting, that’s swell. And if you don’t, that’s swell too.

Well, I don’t know how good a job I’m doing of convincing the rest of you, but the folks running the Web Cartoonist Choice Awards are of the opinion that I am, in fact, a web cartoonist. And as such, I get to take part in the voting process for this year’s awards. Woot!

…go see X-Men 2. Is good. And they’re showing the trailers for some other tasty summer movies (i.e. The Hulk, Matrix Reloaded, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen…) before the feature.

There’s a nifty discussion going on over at Slashdot about games that have had a memorable effect on people. It may not interest everybody, but I imagine there are a few gamers among you. I know I empathize with more than a few of the comments other people have posted.

Comic for 05-05-03

There’s a Comic! Right here in River City! With a capital “C,” and that rhymes with “P,” and that stands for pool!

It looks like a few of you read Friday’s post and decided to cast a vote to show that you like the comic. Or maybe you’re just nice people. Either way, I wanted to let you know that I noticed, and that it was appreciated.

I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that today is both National Cartoonist’s Day and Web Comics Awareness Day. Of course, if you’re a regular visitor to the site, I’d imagine you’re already somewhat aware that web comics exist (if I’m mistaken, then I suggest using the comics listed in the links section as a primer). Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a swell idea…it’s just that the folks running the thing are celebrating the day by asking web cartoonists to run special “Hooray For Webcomics!”-type strips, which strikes me as preaching to the choir.

So, instead, I’m just going to ask that if you enjoy reading my comic and want to participate in Web Comic Awareness Day in some way, tell a friend (or two!) about the site.

As for me, I celebrated by submitting my nominations for the Web Cartoonist’s Choice Awards. And I had a burrito. Par-tay.

I meant to mention this in yesterday’s post, actually, but I forgot: there’s a printed anthology of webcomics coming out in September, and yesterday it was announced which comics will be appearing in it. There’s some good stuff there (including Wapsi Square, which I’ve just recently grown fond of), so take a look.

Comic for 05-07-03

Guess what? I’ve got a fever! And the only prescription…is a new comic!

Christopher Walken is keen.

Ever wonder when, exactly, you’re expected to stop being so childish and just grow up? Well, according to a recent study, you have until your 26th birthday; at that point, you’re supposed to have a job, a home, a spouse, and a kid. Plan accordingly.

Personally, I’m a bit behind schedule. Ah well, who wants to conform, anyhow?

Comic for 05-09-03

Attention, students. Today’s comic has been posted. That is all.

Ever wonder what happened to Saturday morning cartoons? Well, get the lowdown here.

Basically, the good ol’ days of Saturday morning cartoons were one-time fluke sort of thing, and it’s probably not going to happen again (according to the article above, at least). Kind of sad, really; when I was a wee thing, those cartoons were often the highlight of my week. I wonder what kids today look forward to during their school week. Probably Saturday morning frag sessions or something like that.

Actually, it’s not the moon, it’s a comet. NASA’s going to send a spacecraft hurtling into a comet and, if you like, you can put your name on a CD that said spacecraft will carry on its kamikaze mission.

Why would you want to do this? Beats me. But hey, it’s free.

Am I the only one who finds that cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Let’s Spend the Night Together” in the new Sheraton Hotels commercials strangely compelling? I probably am, which will bring me no small amount of shame, I’m sure. But, if anyone’s interested, the cover is done by a band named Convoy from sunny San Diego; I don’t think it’s available for download anywhere, but you can check out some of their other stuff.

Today’s comic is going to be a little late (by about an hour or so). Treat yourself to a doughnut/cheeseburger/whatever-is-appropriate-based-on-where-you-live while you wait.

Comic for 05-12-03

They say that the anticipation of a new comic is a joy all its own.

This gave me the heebie-jeebies. It’s a web page that details all the steps involved in performing an autopsy. That’s creepy enough, in my opinion, but it’s made creepier by the fact that the author wrote it as if he were making a children’s book; there are even little cartoon illustrations for each of the steps.

A sample passage: “The liver has been removed. The pathologist has found something important. It appears that this man had a fatty liver. It is too light, too orange, and a bit too big. Perhaps this man had been drinking heavily for a while.” And then there’s a picture of the little cartoon pathologist putting the liver on his scales.

Creeptastic.

Comic for 05-14-03

Unlike Oreos, today’s comic is trans-fat-free.

It’s a shame I’m not doing a gamer-type comic, seeing as E3’s going on and all. I think most web cartoonists enjoy entertainment of the electronic variety, and I’m no exception. I don’t play many games these days, though; I still enjoy them, but I tend to feel guilty about not doing something more productive with my time. Maybe I’m a grown-up after all.

I have been tempted to pick up the clamshell-version of the Game Boy Advance, though; if it weren’t for the lack of a headphone jack, I probably would have snatched one up by now. I miss the SNES days (I used to dig those old-school rpgs with the cutesy, deformed sprites), and now it looks like I might be able to relive them.

Comic for 05-16-03

Here at Tweep.com, we serve no comic before its time.

I’m about to head off to, hopefully, see the new Matrix movie; I say “hopefully” because I have no idea what sort of hassle getting the tickets, seats, etc. is going to involve. If things work out, I’ll let y’all know what I think of it. So far, it looks like the reviews have been mixed.

Well, I did, in fact, get to see the movie (actually, my friends and I lucked out and got some prime seats in a not-too-crowded theater). Overall, I enjoyed it…I think the key is just not to expect another version of the first movie. I think I’m getting jaded by all the big-budget films of late, though…the special effects were swell, but they just didn’t fill me with the same awe this time around.

Favorite line from the movie: “Eet ees like wiping your ass with silk” (that’s my approximation of an outrageous French accent, if you’re wondering). I’ll have to find a way to work that into everyday conversation.

There’s an interesting article over at corporatemofo.com (which is worth a visit by merit of its name alone) that covers all the various philosophical bits of “Matrix Reloaded.” I picked up some of the allusions mentioned in the article, but apparently there were plenty more that just didn’t register at all.

Or maybe the author’s just crrrrrrazy.

Don’t read it if you haven’t seen the movie yet, though. It’s spoilerific…to the max.

Comic for 05-19-03

A new comic is in tha hizzouse!

I’ve been somewhat slacktastic with the daily blog posts lately, as you might’ve noticed. Some days are just more interesting than others, I’m afraid. But, I think I’ve got a way to deal with those slow news days: I’ll just make something up.

But not today…today, I’ll just leave you with a link to a spiffy game chock full of old school flava.

Comic for 05-21-03

I have crossed vast deserts and sailed treacherous seas just to bring you this new comic.

Who knew Santa’s life was so full of intrigue?

I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve come to really enjoy reading ebooks. I’d always scoffed at the notion of reading an ebook, assuming I’d prefer the sensations of reading an ink-and-paper book. But recently I acquired a hand-me-down PDA and, lacking the sort of vibrant social life that would make the address book and calendar functions useful, I decided to give ebooks a try.

Before long, I was hooked.

It’s not so much the convenience factor, though they are that, to be sure (of course, it has to be said that you don’t have to worry about running out of battery power when you’re reading a conventional book). It’s just that, for some reason I haven’t quite pinned down yet, I seem to be able to read them much more quickly than normal books (and I’m no slouch in that department, either). They’re very comfortable, too…at least with the old PDA I’m using.

So far, my only complaint is that it isn’t always easy finding ebooks to read (partly because the latest ebooks are geared for a newer version of PDA than mine). But, thanks to sites like archive.org (with its collection of open source books and a mirror of Project Gutenberg) and software like ReaderWorks, I’m able to “roll my own.”

Right now, I’m reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I sure do dig stories about coked-up Bohemians solving crimes.

Comic for 05-23-03

Never fear, I got the new comic hookup.

…I would buy you a town (haven’t you always wanted a town?).

It ain’t easy being a trendy blogger; it seems there’s some new, hip thing in blog-land every few days. The latest trend is plastering custom buttons all over your blog.

I might replace the existing link buttons in the sidebar with these new ones, since it’d be nice to have everything a uniform size. Don’t worry, though…I won’t do anything drastic.

Comic for 05-26-03

Now that I’ve posted today’s comic, I’m going back to bed.

As promised, the sidebar has some svelte new buttons now, courtesy of this nifty little tool.

Long ago, when I first introduced those banners at the top, I said that I was going to use that banner space to bring attention to various site-related matters. Well, now I have.

Due to what was probably a poor design decision on my part, some folks have been bookmarking the wrong page in the comic section; more than likely, they bookmarked the last page of the archives, assuming that it would always be the last page of the archives. But as it turns out, this wasn’t the case, meaning that some folks have been seeing the same strip over and over again; I say “wasn’t” because today I changed the way the “Latest” link works to make things a little more intuitive. Hopefully, the new banner in the comic section will help straighten everything out.

I sort of like the way the new banner looks…it’s a welcome change, at least. Maybe I’ll come up with a few more “message banners” to keep things interesting.

Comic for 05-28-03

Look, boss! The comic, the comic!

I know I said that I’m not much of a gamer these days, but it’s hard to be productive when companies start handing them out for free.

It’s a good thing that I get bored of this kind of game easily (I mean, honestly, running around and blasting perfect strangers is only entertaining for so long. Unless you’re, you know, a few bullets short of a full clip.), otherwise I’d never get anything done.

Speaking of things getting done (what a sad little segue that was), I’ve taken the “Tweep” banner out of the random rotation and moved it to a permanent spot in the “Links” section (since it’s only around in case someone wants to use it to link to this site). Makes sense, no?

Comic for 05-30-03

Have no fear, the new comic’s here.

Apparently, vampires are alive and well in Australia. Or is that undead and well? Whatever.

Perhaps that’s why they’ve got folks running around with sharpened stakes, too.

Personally, I think they’re just trying to out-crazy us. If so, they’ve got quite a bit of catching up to do.

There is no coffee in my home,
No cappuccinos crowned with foam,
Nor velvet mochas, milky sweet,
Nor frothy lattés served sans heat.
No grounds at all, ‘least none I see…
I guess I’ll settle for some tea.

The calendar in the sidebar is acting a bit wonky today (at least, I haven’t noticed it acting similarly wonky in the past). For some reason, if you use the calendar to peruse the archive, it’ll skip every other month and repeating the remaining months. I have a feeling this is one of those odd bugs that only shows up on the last day of a 31-day month or something bizarre like that. I’ve perused a few other pMachine blogs, and those that have the same mini-calendar also have the same bug. At least I’m not alone.

I’ll see what I can do about fixing it, but don’t get your hopes up. After all, I have no coffee.